Rail sanding device



Feb. 28, 1950 F. E. SAAR] ET AL RAIL SANDING DEVICE Filed June 26, 1946 v w 1 a Patented Feb. 28, 1950 stares PATENT orrlce Frank pisses, Chicago, and Grantt'f. w.

' Roth, Evanston, Ill.

Applicati'oxr June 26,

2 Claims; v y l The invention relates to rail sanding devices One obj cot-oi the invention is to provide alsand: trap for use on locomotives and delivering sand: to the railway rails, which is simple in cons-truc tion', efficient in operation and includes an air jet for producing turbulence in the inlet leg ofthe casing of the track, close to and for siphonic action of, a second air. jet which projects the sand directly into thepipe through which it is delivered onto the rails.-

Heretofore, it has been proposed touse an air jet in the inlet branch of the trap which directs air into and agitates the sand in the: dome, at apoint remote from the Venturi formation be-- tween the inlet and outlet legs of the casing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pocket form'ation in the inlet branch of thesand conduit and; anair7j12t which produces turbulence in the sand adjacent the Venturiqopening and remotely from the end; of the inlet leg which: is closest to the-sand dome; Thispocket causes the air-jet to-produce turbulence in the sand in closeproximity to the Venturi formation and preventsthe. sand from becoming packed the inlet leg, without projecting air into: the sand-dome, so: that. the sand. will be uniformly siphoned-by the discharge jet which. projects the sand into the delivery pipe. I

Other objectsoi the inventionwill appear from: the detailed-description. I I

The invention-consists of the several novel'features hereinafter setforth and" more particularly defined by claims at thev conclusion hereof.

Inthe drawings: I

Figure 1' is allongitudinalsection'of a sand trap embodying the invention.-

Figure 2 is a sectiontaken on line 2--2 of Figure 1. I

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1'.

Figure 4' is a section similar to Figure 2,.illustrat'ing a modified form of the invention.

The invention is exemplified in a sand trap which comprises a single casing generally designated Ill, and is usually formed of cast metal. This casing includes at one of ends a substantially horizontali leg: or tubular extension II, which is provided with a screw thread for communicative connection with the outlet on the sand dome from which the sand is supplied to the: trap;- and a downwardly inclined leg or tubular extension 12 at the opposite; end, into which is screw threaded a pipe l3,- for delivering sand from the trap to the rails.

The casing has a conduit for the sand which includesan inlet branch- M in leg H, a chamber' [5' in the outlet leg- 12-, and a Venturi passage t8 betweensaid inlet-branch and said chamher. The casing isprovided with oppositely dis posed ledges or abutmen-ts I 6", 'l 'l between the inlet branch [=4 and chamber 1'5 and in the bend 1946;, Serial No 679,450

, 2 between. said branch and: chamber. Ledges i6 andl!- are convergent at one end of the inlet branch of v the conduitand divergent in the out-= let chamber i5, and form the Venturi opening 5 1 8. The topside [:9 of inlet branch 14 in leg M is substantially straight from its inlet end tothe ledge I 6.- The portion of the lower side of branch I4 adjacent its inlet end is straight so that theportion formed by portion l8 and in let portion is substantially cylindrical. In the remainder of the bottom side of. the inlet-conduit between straight portion 20 and ledge ll, thecase ing is formed with a concave pocket 2|, opposite the straight portion; i=9 adjacent the ledge IS.

A supply pipe 23' for compressed air is connected to one side of the casing H1 and come municates with a cylindrical chamber 24,, which is provided with a tapered; seat: 25. A port 2-6 leads from the tapered seat 25'. A- screw 2 with a tapered inner end, is adapted to" regulate the flow of air past the valve seat 25, to the port- 2 6 A port 28 extends from the inner end of port 26", to deliver a jet of air into the inlet branch: I 4 of the sand conduit. The port 28' is disposed to direct the jet of air diametrically across the inlet branch of the sand conduit, near the center or deepest portion. of the concave pocket- 2!. Concave pocket 2| is disposed adjacent the ledge IT and opening l8,- and the port 28 directs a jetor compressed air across the sand conduit into said pocket. The concavity in the pocket causes the air-jet to swirlin the portion of the inlet conduit adjacent the Venturi: opening, and pro duce turbulence which loosens and displaces the sand in the pocket and prevents-it from becoming packed during the operation of the sander. A plug 30; is screw threaded into casing It], for access to and forming, port 28 inthe casing. A port 29",v substantially co-axial with the outlet chamber 15 and pipe l3", extends from port 26 to said chamber; and delivers a jet or air into said chamber for siphoning the sand from the inlet branch of the conduit adjacent pocket-21., through the Venturi opening andprojecting it into the delivery'pipe I3.

The operation of the sander will. be as follows: When the sander is inoperative the sand fl'ows by gravity from the outlet of the sand. dome into inlet f4 and concave pocket 2| and takes substantially the position illustrated in Fig. 1"

of the drawings. When compressed air is delivered' into the air pipe 23, usually through an eni eers control valve, as well understood in the art, air will flow from seat 25', through ports 26" and 28", and deliver a jet of air across the inlet branch and into" the concave pocket 2f. simultaneously, compressed air will fiow' from port 29, and deliver a jet of air through the outlet chamher 15, and into the delivery pipe P3. The air j'e't' from port 28 flows across the inlet conduit and strikes the sand inwardly of the lowest pofifliof the concave bottom of the pocket. The bottom of the pocket is curved upwardly from its point of greatest depth to the inlet and to the ledge IT. The air from jet 28 strikes the sand in a zone between the point of greatest depth of the pocket and the inner end of inlet 20 where the air from jet 28 will deflect and loosen the portion of the sand on the bottom of the pocket, so that the sand will swirl upwardly from the lowest point of the pocket, and toward the opening l8. As a result the air will be deflected upwardly and away from inlet 20 and toward the Venturi opening l8, and during such deflection the sand will be loosened and caused to swirl in a zone where it will be siphoned through the opening I 8. This produces turbulence in and loosens the sand in the pocket immediately adjacent the ledges l6 and I1 and Venturi opening I8, which prevents the sand from becoming packed or accumulating in the pocket 2| and in said opening during the operation of the sander. The jet of air from port 29, will siphon the turbulent and loose sand through the Venturi opening and forcibly project the sand into the delivery pipe. swirling air will be substantially confined to the portion of the inlet duct adjacent the Venturi passage, and will not retard the flow of sand from the sand dome into the inlet conduit. It will be observed that the jet of air from port 28 is directed downwardly across the sand conduit to a portion of. the pocket 2!, which will deflect the air toward the ledge l1 and to the Venturi opening 18. As a result, the preponderance of turbulent and loose sand will be deflected away from the inlet end of conduit 14 and toward the Venturi opening. As the sand is discharged from the lower portion of the pocket 2| by the air jet from port 28, the sand from inlet 26 will flow into the lower portion of pocket 2| to replace the sand discharged.

7 As a result of this construction, the sand for projection into the delivery pipe will be siphoned from the sand in a state of turbulence produced by the jet of air across the inlet conduit at the pocket 21 with the result that the delivery of the sand will be constant and uniform, and the flow of sand from the dome will not'be retarded.

In the modification of the invention illustrated in Fig. 3, the port for delivering a jet of air from port 26, is connected to an oblique port 28a, which delivers the air tangentially into the inlet conduit and the concave pocket 2|, to cause the air to swirl around the periphery of the pocket and produce turbulence of the sand therein. In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the port 28 delivers the jet of air transversely across the inlet conduit, so that the stream of air will be divided and directed tangentially around the periphery of the pocket and inlet conduit adjacent the Venturi opening.

The invention exemplifies a sand trap which is provided with a pocket in the inlet branch of the sand conduit and adjacent the Venturi opening for co-acting with a supplemental jet of air to produce a turbulence or swirling of the sand at a point close to the jet of air for discharging the sand through the outlet leg of the easing, and without directing the air into the sand dome where it will retard the sand, and whereby the accumulation or packing of the sand adjavent the Venturi opening will be prevented and the sand will be discharged at a pre-determined rate, into the delivery pipe, by the second air l In this operation, the I The invention is not to be understood as limited to the details described, since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A trap for sanding rails comprising: a casing including a substantially horizontal inlet leg provided with means for connecting to the side of a sand dome, a downwardly inclined outlet leg provided with an outlet chamber, a downwardly inclined delivery pipe leading from said outlet chamber, the inlet leg having a sanding conduit with a substantially horizontal portion extending inwardly from its outer end, upper and lower ledges forming a Venturi opening between the outlet chamber and said conduit, the casing being provided with a concave pocket extending below and merging onto the inner end of the bottom of the horizontal portion of the conduit, and merging upwardly into the lower ledge, the top of the horizontal portion of the conduit merging downwardly into the upper ledge, means for delivering a jet of air under pressure from the top of and across said conduit, and directing it to a portion of the pocket which is curved to deflect sand toward the Venturi opening and away from the inner end of the bottom of the horizontal portion of the conduit, and means for delivering a jet of air into the outlet chamber for projecting the sandfrom the outlet chamber through the discharge pipe.

2. A trap for sanding rails comprising: a casing including a substantially horizontal inlet leg provided with means for connecting to the side of a sand dome, a downwardly inclined outlet leg provided with an outlet chamber, a downwardly inclined delivery ipe leading from said outlet chamber, the inlet leg having a sanding conduit with a substantially horizontal portion extending inwardly from its outer end, upper and lower ledges forming a Venturi opening between the outlet chamber and said conduit, the casing being provided with'a concave pocket extending below and merging into the inner end of the bottom of the horizontal portion of the conduit, and merging upwardly into the lower ledge, the top of the horizontal portion of the conduit merging downwardly into the upper ledge, means for delivering a jet of air under pressure from the top of and across said conduit, and directing it downwardly and tangentially to one side of a portion of the pocket which is curved to deflect the sand toward the Venturi opening and away from the inner end of the bottom of the horizontal portion of the conduit, and means for delivering a jet of air into the outlet chamber for projecting the sand from the outlet chamber through the discharge pipe.

FRANK E. SAARI. GRANT V. W. ROTH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

